"The trouble with a rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat" – Lily Tomlin

Osama bin Laden Captured and Killed!

Osama bin Laden

He evaded the might and resource of the American government and coalition forces for nearly a decade but believe it or not Osama bin Laden is dead.

Personally I feel no emotions regarding his death, may be because of the impersonal nature of his crime. I never imagined him to be foolish enough to be captured alive with what his brothers are facing in Guantanamo bay but this goes both ways since US army was out to kill him anyway. This is not to say that the American penal system is completely prejudiced and couldn’t have handled the trial of a man of his criminal standing. But what would you out there do if you found this guy who killed about 3000 of your country men may be even including your own family members and whom you have also been chasing for the past 10ish years? Would you have complete faith in your legal system so would not lay a finger on him, slap him around a bit then hand him over to the authorities, torture him until his beard starts braiding itself, or kill him?

Cultural Icon

Osama bin laden for worse became a cult figure in global society. He was the inspiration of inumerable online flash games that gave the public the chance of beating him up even if the blood you drew from his avatar never really killed him. In some circles though, especially the radical Muslim group in the middle east and Pakistan, he was a hero and his death will only make him a martyr to the millions who worshiped him.

All Muslims are terrorists

Not only did his hiding put him on FBI’s world’s most wanted list (NOW DECLARED DECEASED ON THE SITE), he also elevated the status of Muslims worldwide from ‘going around minding my own business’ to ‘terrorist’. Many as a result have had to spend double the time as other passengers at airport terminals with some even being falsely labelled terrorists, held at the airport and later tortured in undisclosed facilities. And this is what worries me . Even though the man is dead, this stigma will forever live on until something as dramatic as 911 happens again (May be a christian or buddist bombing of Connecticut to level things perhaps).

No matter what happens this will go into the history books as one of the most daring cat and mouse chases of all time but hopefully not to lead to the creation of a new ‘super’ bin Laden.